1. Broadcast and Recording Studio Construction and Technical Considerations By
Jesse Role, Ph. D. TM - Electronics
Chairman, Department of Technology
University of Eastern Africa, Baraton

2. Topics Covered Studio design and size
Internal and external environment
Lighting consideration
sound acoustics material considerations
Room temperature
Furniture and fixture
Maximum and minimum expected performers
Inventory
Safety measures

3. Technology Considerations
• Number of desired studios • Acoustic treatment • Choice of acoustic material • Choice of studio equipment • Choice of transmitting equipment

4. Studio Design and Size
Studio can come in various shapes, sometimes based on available space.
Types of studio
Main studio or broadcast studio
Remote studio- studio for performers who cannot control the mixing control.
Backup studio-can be used as emergency studio in case other studio cannot be used.
Availability of funds

5. ROOM SIZES AND SHAPES
The size and shape of a room determine its natural resonances - often called room modes.
There are a few "ideal" ratios of room height, width, and length that professional studio designers agree should be used if possible. Three of these ratios, developed by L.W. Sepmeyer, are shown in the Table .
Height
Width
Length
1.00
1.14
1.39
1.28
1.54
1.60
2.33

6. ROOM SIZE Example: 2.50 m height; 2.85 m width; 3.50 m length

14. Recording areas Recording control booth Performance area Editing area
Dubbing
Performance area
Live broadcast
Pre-recording

15. Recording Control Booth
Symmetry matters! In a typical stereo mixing room, the loudspeakers are spaced equally from the walls and corners, and form an equilateral triangle at the mix position. The arrangement shown on the left is better than the one on the right because it's more symmetrical within the room. The layout on the right also suffers from a focusing effect caused by the wall-wall junction behind the listener.
ROOM SYMMETRY

16. Internal and External Environment
Wind factor (considering wind flow)
Sun orientation
Room location
Noise factor
Possible vibrations

17. Lighting Consideration
Lighting height
Lighting lumens
Lighting color
Types of light
Lighting control

18. Room temperature Constant temperature (22-25 degrees Celsius )
Recommended Air-conditioning
Recommended blower fans

19. Furniture and Fixture Types of furniture
Use of acoustic friendly furniture
Minimizing un-necessary object in the studio

20. Please understand that acoustic treatment as described in this lecture is designed to control the sound quality within a room.

21. ACOUSTIC TREATMENT
There are four primary goals of acoustic treatment: 1) To prevent standing waves and acoustic interference from affecting the frequency response of recording studios and listening rooms; 2) to reduce modal ringing in small rooms and lower the reverb time in larger studios, churches, and auditoriums; 3) to absorb or diffuse sound in the room to avoid ringing and flutter echoes, and improve stereo imaging; and 4) to keep sound from leaking into or out of a room. That is, to prevent your music from disturbing the neighbors, and to keep the sound of passing trucks from getting into your microphones.

22. Acoustics material mountings
Wall acoustics mountings
Ceiling acoustics mounting
Floor insulation mounting

23. Choice of Acoustic Material
Affordable
Available
Replaceable
Color
Type of material

24. DIFFUSERS AND ABSORBERS
The simplest type of diffuser is one or more sheets of plywood attached to a wall at a slight angle, to prevent sound from bouncing repeatedly between the same two walls. Alternatively, the plywood can be bent into a curved shape, though that is more difficult to install. In truth, this is really a deflector, not a diffuser, as described in more detail below. However, a deflector is sufficient to avoid flutter echoes between parallel surfaces.

25. The higher frequencies (top) are absorbed well because their velocity peaks fall within the material thickness. The lower frequency at the bottom does not achieve as much velocity so it's absorbed less.

26. foam's absorption at higher frequencies
Material
125 Hz
250 Hz
500 Hz
1000 Hz
2000 Hz
4000 Hz
NRC
Owens-Corning 703
0.17
0.86
1.14
1.07
1.02
0.98
1.00
Owens-Corning 705-FRK
0.60
0.50
0.63
0.82
0.45
0.34
Typical sculpted acoustic foam
0.11
0.30
0.91
1.05
0.99
0.80

28. rigid fiberglass that is two inches thick has an absorption coefficient of 0.17 at 125 Hz

30. NOISE CONTROL Possible factors creating noise Electrical distortion
Frequency interference
Wind factors
Computer fans or cooling system
Defective equipment
Defective microphones
Wrong equipment adjustments

31. Typical Studio Arrangement

32. Safety Measures Checklist
Fire extinguishers
Main switches, must be soft touch
Switches location and mounting- it must be in a non fire hazard place.
Fire exit signs, etc
Evacuation plan layout
Emergency Tel. Number

33. Inventory
Equipment
Furniture
Tools
Supplies

34. Inventory Tag Sample MIC-BAFM-STU2-002 Equipment Code Location
Ownership
Item

35. Equipment Record Name of the equipment Description Brand Date purchase
Manufacturer
Cost of purchase
Condition remarks
Date repaired
Date disposed

36. Possible dangers for transmitters
• Heat and Dust • Power fluctuations • RF reflection – Mismatch due to – improper antenna – improper tuning of the antenna – loose connections between the transmitter and antenna – Moisture – Inbuilt protection (fold back) • Lightning – lightning arrester – low resistance earth pit

37. A Clean and Organized Studio is Encouraging and Good to the Eye.

39. Thank you!